ABOUR AURORA IMPACT FOUNDATION
A women-led foundation working across North America, Europe, and Africa.
What
Five pillars. One stem. One clear purpose.
Aurora's work is organised around five areas of focus, each a petal of the same lotus — and a foundational stem that holds everything together.
Where
Three regions, each at a different stage.
Aurora works where the need and the partnerships are strongest. North America is home base. Africa is where our first pilot is taking shape. Europe is where our strategic alliances are growing
AFRICA - IN DEVELOPMENT
Tanzania
A four-phase pilot program in development with RACAS, bringing trauma-informed support and access to justice work directly to women and girls. Built in partnership, not imported — phased planning, local leadership, and measurable outcomes at every stage.
NORTH AMERICA - ACTIVE
Canada & United States
Aurora's home base, federally incorporated in Canada. Local and national programming, partnerships with organizations across sectors, and governance rooted in Canadian nonprofit law.
EUROPE - ACTIVE
Strategic partnerships
A growing network of strategic relationships with leadership and sustainability-focused organizations across Europe — extending Aurora's reach into international policy conversations.
Why
The systems built to serve everyone are not serving women.
"When a woman is hurt, her family is hurt. When a family is hurt, a community is hurt. The inverse is equally true — and equally documented."
Women are underserved in healthcare. Underrepresented in governance. Underpaid in the workplace. Underprotected in the legal system. And when women are left behind, so are their children, their families, and the communities they sustain.
This is not a women's issue. It is a systems issue. Aurora exists to close the gap between the values institutions publicly profess and the conditions they actually create for women.
We are guided by human rights principles, aligned with international frameworks for gender equality, and grounded in the evidence: countries and communities that support women's full participation in leadership and public life are more peaceful, more prosperous, and more resilient.
Aurora is not about women being better than anyone else, and it is not about excluding men. It is about ensuring that everyone — including women's sons, partners, and communities — benefits from women being fully included, fairly supported, and genuinely heard.
How
A model built on partnership, not competition.
Collaboration is foundational to how Aurora works. Our international network of partners, advocates, institutions, and champions is not a contact list — it is the engine. Aurora uses its relationships deliberately: to open doors, amplify programs already doing powerful work, and connect women directly to the resources, people, and opportunities that help them thrive.
Direct Programming
Aurora designs and delivers programs in the areas of Justice, Wellbeing, Dignity, and Rise — working directly with women and families to provide education, resources, and access to support.
Advocacy & Education
Aurora engages in public policy conversations, produces research and educational content, and participates in international forums to advance systemic change for women and girls.
Partnership & Amplification
Through the Collective pillar, Aurora acts as a big sister to aligned organizations — lending network, funding, and strategic capacity to amplify work already happening on the ground.
Male Allyship & Corporate Partnerships
Aurora actively recruits male allies and corporate partners who are willing to use their platforms and resources to uplift women — because meaningful change requires everyone.
When
Where we've been. Where we're going.
Aurora is a young foundation with an ambitious roadmap. Here is where we are, what is active, and what we are building toward.
WHERE WE’VE BEEN
● 2009
The Road Begins
A speaking tour across Canada, talking to young women about leadership and what was possible for them. The gaps were everywhere — in opportunity, in support, in the systems meant to serve them. The work that would become Aurora started here.
● 2009 - 2024
Building the Network
Partnerships with World Vision, the Red Cross, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and more than 100 organizations across Canada and internationally. The relationships, knowledge, and conviction that would become Aurora were built across these years.
● 2022
Women of Inspiration Award
Recognition within Canada's women's leadership community — and the deepening of relationships that would shape Aurora's programming and values.
● 2025
Business and Human Rights Forum, Geneva
Aurora participates in the UN Business and Human Rights Forum in Geneva — bringing its framework into international policy conversations.
● 2026
Aurora is Incorporated, the Work Accelerates
Aurora Impact Foundation is federally incorporated in Canada as an independent nonprofit — not a startup, a culmination. In the same year: Aurora attends CSW70, joins the Impact Leaders Alliance as a founding member, and deepens its global reach through the Universal Women's Network. Partnerships with RACAS and ERT grow. In October, the Tanzania pilot launches.
● MARCH 2026 - NEW YORK
CSW70 - United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
Aurora participates in CSW70 at the United Nations in New York — bringing its framework into one of the world's most important annual forums on gender equality and women's rights.
● MAY 2026 - ROME
European Innovation for Sustainability Summit
Aurora attends the European Innovation for Sustainability Summit in Rome, deepening its strategic partnerships across Europe and contributing Aurora's perspective to international sustainability and leadership conversations.
WHERE WE’RE GOING
○ OCTOBER 2026 - TANZANIA
RACAS Pilot Launches
Aurora's four-phase pilot program with RACAS launches in Tanzania — bringing trauma-informed support and access to justice work directly to women and girls on the ground.
○ MARCH 2027 - NEW YORK
CSW71 - Commission on the Status of Women
Aurora returns to the United Nations in New York for CSW71 — continuing its presence in international gender equality policy conversations.
○ 2026
Member Program Launches
Aurora's sustaining donor membership program opens — giving individuals a standing way to support the foundation's work year-round.
○ 2026-27
Online Leadership Program
Aurora's Rise curriculum launches: online leadership and entrepreneurship programming for women at all career stages — from new leaders to senior executives.
○ NOVEMBER 2026
Las Vegas Charity Event
Aurora's first major fundraising event — an evening bringing together champions, partners, and donors in support of the foundation's programs.
○ 2027-28
Annual Gala
Aurora's flagship annual gala — celebrating the foundation's work and the women and partners who make it possible.
○ 2028
Housing Pilot
Aurora's most ambitious commitment: a pilot housing project for elderly women and single mothers. A multi-year capital initiative, built deliberately and with the communities it will serve.
Who
Founded on lived experience. Governed internationally.
FOUNDER & CEO
Aurora Impact Foundation was founded by Rev. Shannon L. Smadella — an award-winning social entrepreneur, executive leader, and long-time women's rights advocate. With 27 years of experience spanning corporate strategy, nonprofit governance, global advocacy, and leadership development, Shannon has built partnerships with more than 100 organizations across Canada and internationally, including World Vision, the Red Cross, and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Shannon is a Global Ambassador with the Universal Women's Network, a Founding Member of the Impact Leaders Alliance, and a Women of Inspiration Award recipient. She has spoken to young women across Canada, participated in international forums at the United Nations, and built the relationships that now form the foundation of Aurora's global network. Shannon is also CEO of Insight Global Consulting.
Aurora is the culmination of that work — not the beginning of it.
READ HER FULL PROFILE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
An international board.
Aurora is governed by an international Board of Directors bringing diverse expertise across governance, law, health, business, and advocacy.
Rev. Shannon L. Smadella, MBA
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